Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) Stock: Insider John Malone Buys 98,704 Shares

Liberty Global Ltd (NASDAQ:LBTYA) major shareholder John Malone purchased 98,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.76 per share, with a total value of $963,351.04. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 9,217,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,965,171.68. The trade was a 1.08% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Liberty Global Stock Up 3.7%

NASDAQ:LBTYA opened at $10.64 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Liberty Global Ltd has a 12 month low of $7.36 and a 12 month high of $13.52. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.97.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by $1.64. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Liberty Global had a negative return on equity of 25.14% and a negative net margin of 44.40%. As a group, research analysts expect that Liberty Global Ltd will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on LBTYA shares. New Street Research raised Liberty Global from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Liberty Global from $10.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Liberty Global from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 7th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Liberty Global from $12.10 to $11.90 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liberty Global in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.78.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Global

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its position in Liberty Global by 17.3% during the first quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 11,752,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,734,423 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Liberty Global by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,832,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,782,000 after purchasing an additional 521,750 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Liberty Global by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,245,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,896,000 after purchasing an additional 251,727 shares during the period. Lancaster Investment Management acquired a new stake in Liberty Global during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,336,000. Finally, First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. grew its position in Liberty Global by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. now owns 2,341,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,308,000 after purchasing an additional 34,019 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 37.20% of the company’s stock.

About Liberty Global

Liberty Global is an international telecommunications company that provides broadband, mobile, television and fixed-line voice services through operating companies and joint ventures. Its businesses serve residential and business customers, with offerings that include internet access, mobile connectivity, video services and related communications products. The company’s European portfolio includes Virgin Media O2 in the United Kingdom, VodafoneZiggo in the Netherlands and Telenet in Belgium. Liberty Global also invests in communications infrastructure and technology businesses.